MOD completes Wi-Fi network in Afghanistan

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The Ministry of Defence has completed work on a wireless network to connect its military bases in Afghanistan.

It created the network to help take some of the pressure off the overloaded satellite communications system the armed forces have been using.

It was built using RADWIN 2000 links from Radwin’s UK partner Horsebridge Network Systems. These enable up to 100 Mbps of throughput over a range of up to 120km over a single link.

Geoff Smith, managing director of Horsebridge, said in a statement: "The MOD had a vital need for an efficient, robust solution with the ability to deliver TDM [Time-Division Multiplexing enabling two or more signals to be transmitted at the same time] and Ethernet in challenging topographies and no direct line-of-sight situations, and we knew that Radwin's links were ideal for this project.”

The links had to pass a variety of security tests and are used for both data and voice communications. The companies claim the technology has increased both capacity and capability compared to the previous network.

Major Lee Hawkes, from the MOD, said in a statement: "We carefully evaluated different communications options before handing the final decision over to the Deployed Solutions staff in Afghanistan. Radwin's systems meet our requirements, without additional modification or equipment.”

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